Music trends of the last decade
The 2010s were an iconic decade in the music industry. From the blurring of lines in between genres to the crossing of music from one continent to another, the music of today has changed forever.
Here are the top music trends of the decade.
- Music Streaming
According to Forbes, streaming revenue adds up to about 65% of the revenue made from recorded music. Platforms like Apple Music and Spotify allow all of the world’s music to be streamed legally. For a fee of course. Access to music is easier for all and piracy has taken a kick in the shin.
- From Africa to the world.
Sounds from Africa are now played on repeat all around the world. Nigerian artists came into the world’s limelight with artists like Wizkid performing at the London’s Royal Albert Hall and selling out the O2 Arena and Burna boy appearing on a Billboard at Time Squares.
- K-pop
As pre the recent chillout radio broadcast the success of Psy hit song Gagnam Style paved the way for Korean pop music popularity. The viral video was the first to hit more than a billion views. The BTS became the sweethearts of every fan with the Love Yourself: Tear album in 2018. BTS shared some of their shine with the girls. Blackpink is now the most subscribed girl band on YouTube with 30 million subscribers. These acts brought the Korean language into mainstream Music. The rise of K-pop was very instrumental in shifting attention from the US as being the sole source of pop music. The genre’s scope also expanded as a lot of experimentation by artists like St. Vincent, David Bowie, FKA Twigs, Charli XCX, Björk, Grimes, and SOPHIE.
- Collaborations across continents
There was a lot of collaboration in the past decade. Beyoncé reached to Africa to draw sounds and voices for her album, HΘMΣCΘMING: THE LIVE ALBUM. Dua Lipa announced plans to collaborate with both BTS and Blackpink. Señorita a song by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, as well as in thirty-five other countries.
- Latin hits
Despacito made into hearts and ears for most of 2017 and 2018 with this song standing as Youtube’s biggest hit. The infusion of Spanish songs into mainstream music made this decade the most successful for Latin music. The catchy sounds of Latin music drew in Beyoncé, Shawn Mendez and even Ed Sheeran making them collaborate with Latin artists.
- Experimenting with Hip-hop
Kendrick Lamar won a Pulitzer and he also released three records that addressed burning social issues using Hip-Hop. Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, To Pimp a Butterfly, DAMN all demanded attention and they got it bringing Hip Hop to a new light. Kanye West experimented a lot with sounds and styles to the praise and disdain of critics. He blended in tribal drums and pianos: soul and progressive rock into his albums. Artists such as Frank Ocean, SZA and Janelle Monae made it hard for anyone to place them in a box of Hip-hop while sending messages about race and identity through music.
M.T.V.rock 